Since its invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkey has claimed that it was
acting as a protector and guarantor of the island’s security. But a
closer examination of its actions on Cyprus indicates motivations of
a very different character. Turkey’s invasion resulted in hundreds of
thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees, who have been unable to return
to their homes for almost 40 years. The international community has
repeatedly condemned the illegal military occupation of Cyprus by
Turkish troops. The United Nations Security Council has passed 75
resolutions calling for Turkey to allow Greek Cypriots to return to
their homes and to withdraw its troops from Cyprus. Yet Turkey
continues its occupation.

More than 40,000 heavily armed Turkish soldiers are occupying the
northern part of the country, with one Turkish soldier for every two
Turkish-Cypriots. The presence of this overwhelming force cannot be
justified by the claims that they are needed to prevent any renewal
of violence. In fact, since the 2003 opening of the border between
the two communities, more than 17 million intercommunal visits have
occurred without conflict.

The result of this occupation by foreign troops is that many Cypriot
neighborhoods in the occupied areas remain vacant or in a state of
disrepair. One of the most tragic examples is the Varosha region of
Famagusta. Once an important commercial and tourism center for the
island, Varosha was fenced off following the invasion, and access has
been prohibited for all except Turkish military forces. Over the
years, this area has become a virtual ghost town.

The desolation of Cypriot properties and cultural sites is not
restricted to Varosha but is a reality in all the areas under Turkish
military occupation. In fact, an estimated 520 Greek Orthodox
churches and chapels, and 17 monasteries in the occupied areas have
been pillaged, vandalized or destroyed. Often these religious sites
have been converted into stables, bars, nightclubs, casinos or
hotels, leaving more than 15,000 religious artifacts unaccounted for.
This widespread destruction of Cypriot historic, religious and
cultural identity certainly does not seem like the behavior of
a “protective guardian.”

Turkey also continues to interfere in the domestic affairs of Cyprus,
especially the negotiations on reunification. The goal of these talks
is a Cypriot-developed, mutually agreeable settlement based on a
bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, including a
single sovereignty, single citizenship and single international
presence. But instead of allowing the representatives from the
Turkish-Cypriot community to engage freely in the talks, the Turkish
government has imposed its own criteria, which has made an agreement
all but impossible.

Turkey also has tried to limit Cyprus‘ sovereign rights to develop
its energy resources. Despite the island’s critical energy needs,
Turkey declared last year that it had “nullified” the exploration
agreement between Cyprus and Israel even though it has no right to do
so. Turkey escalated the conflict by sending its own ships to the
region and even threatened military action if Cyprus continued in its
project with Israel. Although from the beginning, Republic of Cyprus
President Demetris Christofias guaranteed that any energy resources
discovered would be used for the benefit of all Cypriots, Turkish
officials claimed their actions were to protect the rights of the
Turkish-Cypriots.

Reports by the Turkish-Cypriot media indicate that the Turkish
government continues to promote illegal immigration by Turks to the
northern occupied areas of Cyprus with the goal of changing the
demographic composition of the island. According to people
administering the occupied area, there are an estimated 160,000
settlers from Turkey, many of whom occupy the homes of the evicted
Greek-Cypriots. However, reports in the Turkish-Cypriot press from
Turkish-Cypriots who live among the Turkish settlers put this number
between 500,000 and 800,000. A recent “census” in the north indicated
that the total population in the north had increased to nearly
300,000 people. Just 88,900 of them were native Turkish-Cypriots, who
are outnumbered by illegal Turkish immigrants by a ratio of almost 2-
1.

Ankara’s support for these illegal immigrants is not welcomed by the
native Turkish-Cypriot community. In fact, Stella Altziman, who
resides in that region of Cyprus, wrote in 2010: “Due to constant
migration from Turkey, [the northern occupied area] is like a Turkish
province” and the native Turkish-Cypriots have become a minority in
their own land. Last year, many Turkish-Cypriots protested Turkey’s
policies toward Cyprus, with some carrying banners that
read, “Ankara, get your hands off our shores.” Yet Turkey continues
to flood its areas of occupation with illegal Turkish immigrants. In
his visit to Cyprus last year, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan mocked the Turkish-Cypriots, stating, “If you don’t want us
to send people, you need to have more babies.”

By its occupation, Turkey is “guaranteeing” nothing but a creeping
annexation. It is time for Turkey to withdraw its military troops,
end all support for illegal immigration to Cyprus and let the true
inhabitants of the island determine their own future. Only then will
the long-suffering Cypriot people finally enjoy the peace and
security they have been trying so desperately to achieve for decades.